I actually first learned about Semmelweis as an ethical case study. IIRC, Semmelweis did a formal experiment with a control group: only some of the doctors in the First Clinic washed their hands with chlorinated lime; the others deliberately went directly from handling cadavers to delivering babies. The question was whether killing a few innocent women and children in the course of the experiment was justified by all those that would be saved if he proved that washing with lime reduced the death rate.
Maybe a better illustration would be Peter Pronovost's efforts to get hospitals to use checklists. His studies show that using a checklist for routine procedures like inserting a catheter dramatically reduces infection rates, saving lives and money. It's such a huge win that you'd think checklists would take the medical world by storm, but that hasn't happened. Convincing doctors to use a checklist requires overcoming their self-image of competence; it's too easy for a doctor to think, "I know I have to wash my hands before inserting a catheter, I don't need some nurse with a checklist to remind me."
Of course, Pronovost's story is less dramatic than Semmelweis. Pronovost has been more carefully about drawing conclusions from his observations, done a better job of presenting his ideas, and been more successful—hospitals are adopting his methods, if slowly and sometimes grudgingly. He's not likely to die alone in an asylum. To my mind, though, that makes a better illustration of Aaron's thesis.
Maybe a better illustration would be Peter Pronovost's efforts to get hospitals to use checklists. His studies show that using a checklist for routine procedures like inserting a catheter dramatically reduces infection rates, saving lives and money. It's such a huge win that you'd think checklists would take the medical world by storm, but that hasn't happened. Convincing doctors to use a checklist requires overcoming their self-image of competence; it's too easy for a doctor to think, "I know I have to wash my hands before inserting a catheter, I don't need some nurse with a checklist to remind me."
Of course, Pronovost's story is less dramatic than Semmelweis. Pronovost has been more carefully about drawing conclusions from his observations, done a better job of presenting his ideas, and been more successful—hospitals are adopting his methods, if slowly and sometimes grudgingly. He's not likely to die alone in an asylum. To my mind, though, that makes a better illustration of Aaron's thesis.